Family
by lxlynda
Summary: What happened to Inuyasha and Sesshomaru after the Great Dog Demon's death? Why does it seem that, no matter the situation, they seem to share a mutual hate? Is everything as it seems? No incest, pervs! I own nothing but this story


I had the idea for this after watching swords of an honorable ruler(inu movie 2). i thought that sesshomaru must secretly loved his lil bro since he would always "conviently" help him, even though he "didn't"- I took it as him secretly watching over inu. So, then I thought he would have had to have some sort of tender interaction between the two. Since we dont relaly know for sure what happened during all of inu's child hood, my imagination went to work :)

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><p>After the death of the Great Dog Demon and the birth of his last son, the eldest, Sesshomaru, decided to journey to the human village containing that which led to his father's death…<p>

_Sesshomaru trudged heavily on the soil, his paws leaving imprints wherever they touched. He chose to travel in his dog form because the trip would take more time than he wanted to waste otherwise. The dog demon merely wanted to see what made his father throw away his life so quickly._

_As he approached the human village, he shifted forma with ease; humans would try to fight him either way, but, looking like this, they wouldn't feel as threatened by him. Not that he cared whether he had to fight them or not, it's merely the fact that they were not worth his time. _

"_Who are you?" One of the men called to him._

_He answer with another question. "Where is Izayoi?"_

_Another man came up. "What do you want with her?"_

"_My business is with her. You do not need to know my reasons."_

"_Hey, look," one whispered to the other. "It's a demon."_

"_It figures- only a demon would want to see her."_

"_Are you the boy's father?" Sesshomaru squinted his golden eyes. "That child is no son of mine. Where are they?"_

"_If you're not the boy's father-"_

_The demon grabbed the annoying humans by the shirts. "Answer me or die. I grow tired of your badgering."_

_Both men stuttered before directing him to Izayoi's hut, begging to be spared the whole time._

"_You pathetic humans aren't worth dying by my hand." With that, Sesshomaru left the men. "And if I do not find that woman where you said, you'll be sorry," he added over his shoulder._

_The rest of the villagers watched Sesshomaru with fear. His eyes moved over a ll the humans slowly, searching for the one that stole his father's heart and ended his life. Surely she would be the only one who lacks fear of him._

_All the women. However, were hidden behind their men, making it exceedingly difficult for him to see them all._

"_Where is Izayoi?" He asked aloud. No one answered. "Tell me where she is or you all will suffer greatly."_

_Hr growled as the silence dragged on, some of the villagers went as far as to go back inside to ignore him._

_Just as he was about to draw his sword, something tugged at his pants leg._

_Sesshomaru scowled and moved his eyes to the annoyance._

_It was a tiny child, not a human, but not a demon- a little half breed._

"_Their child," he said to himself. His scowl deepened, but he tried to control himself- he was still just a child. "Boy, where is your mother."_

_The half breed child smiled at me, showing his six teeth. He Didn't speak but he took the lead. The boy's long silver hair blew behind as did Sesshomaru's, as did their father's._

_Sesshomaru's half breed brother led him to an isolated house. He had never met the human who fell in love with his father and birthed his brother- he barely knew his own mother- but now that he was at her home, he was at a loss for what to do._

_He didn't come here to kill the woman- he was only curious to see what type of human could cause the Great Dog Demon to become so weak._

_His brother tugged his pants again. Sesshomaru turned to him. "Why do you want to see Mommy?" The boy's gold, wide eyes shone with curiosity. "Are you Mommy's friend?"_

_Sesshomaru leaned down in front of his little brother. "What is your name?"_

"_Inuyasha," the boy told him proudly._

"_Well then, Inuyasha, you should know that I am no friend of humans and no friend of yours, nor will any other demon be. I am the first son of your father and nothing more."_

_Inuyasha blinked once, not registering the harshness of what his brother said to him yet. "You…you're my brother?"_

"_Half brother," Sesshomaru stressed. "You have a human mother, making you a half breed demon."_

_His eyes brightened. "You're a full demon? Wow." The little boy reached out his small hands to touch Sesshomaru's pointed ears. "Your ears are all pointy…"_

_As the tiny half demon touched his face, Sesshomaru felt something stir up inside him, Not hate, like he thought he'd have for the boy, but more like some sort of fondness for the child._

"_Most demons have pointed ears, Inuyasha," the eldest informed him. "You are only half, that's why yours are so dog-like."_

_The boy began touching his own silver hair. "But our hair is the same. And your eyes look like mine, too."_

"_Yes. That is something we both got from Father." Sesshomaru was being relatively kind to the boy but he didn't know why. He knew that they would never be like real siblings, so why even bother leading the child on? Maybe it was because he knew the hardships that Inuyasha had ahead of him and thought, even though he would most likely forget this event, that he deserved at least one act of kindness from someone other than his own mother._

_The boy continued staring at him in awe. "Our father…I never got to meet him…but my mom tells me lots about him." He smiled. "Was he really a dog demon?"_

"_Yes, he was. And a great one at that. You should be proud to say that he was your father."_

"_Sesshomaru?" A female voice called from ahead, inside the house they were standing in front of. "Is that really you?" It was Izayoi, Inuyasha's human mother and the sole reason their father had to die. Yet he felt none of the hatred he thought he would feel towards her, the resent he would have for her having the baby that ultimately brought about his father's demise._

"_It's good to see you," she said to him, smiling just as he remember her doing so often with his father._

_He can't bring himself to hate those two, not now at least. Not when his only brother was staring up at him with his mother smiling kindly. These two would lead miserable lives well enough without him interfering now. "It's been a long time, Izayoi," he responded coldly. Just because he felt pity for them does not mean he'll let them know it._

_However, the human woman continued to smile at him. "Yes. I see you have met Inuyasha. I've told him about his big brother, you know. He's been looking forward to seeing you one day." _

_Inuyasha's eyes lit up as Sesshomaru's met his. "Do you want to stay for a little and play with me, brother?" _

_Looking into his eyes, the eyes of their father, the demon couldn't say no._

"_No, Sesshomaru, you have to pass it back to me, not run with it!" The tiny half-demon shouted after his brother, laughing._

_Sesshomaru chuckled. "Really? Well, either way, if you want this ball, you must catch me." He smiled at his little brother and ran in the opposite direction._

"_Get back here!" Inuyasha called after him. "Sesshomaru, I'm gonna' get you!"_

_Izayoi laughed from their porch, watching them run around in circles until Sesshomaru decided Inuyasha worked hard enough for it. He stopped and turned back around to face him. He jumped the elder, screaming victoriously. Sesshomaru laughed, "you have caught me, Inuyasha."_

_Inuyasha wrapped his arms around Sesshomaru's neck, hugging him. Sesshomaru chuckled, embracing him back playfully until he felt his brother's grip tighten._

_He pulled back and saw the half breed on the verge of tears. "What's wrong, Inuyasha?"_

_Inuyasha looked back at him. "You're gonna go soon," he stated. "I don't want you to go, Sesshomaru. I wan you to stay."_

"_I cannot stay with you, Inuyasha. I am sorry." The boy moved his eyes down, feeling rejected. "-but I will not leave yet."_

_Inuyasha perked up in Sesshomaru's arms. "Will you stay the night, Sesshomaru?" _

_The demon nodded slowly. "If you wish it. But only till you fall asleep. Then I must venture out once more." Inuyasha bounced in his arms and hugged him closer._

_Sesshomaru, a man of his word, kept to the promise he made to Inuyasha. He bathed the child, then ate dinner with him and his mother. _

_The sun had been down for nearly and hour before Inuyasha was tired. The boy refused to go to bed, however, claiming he was not exhausted at all._

"_Inuyasha, you must go to bed now," Izayoi told him. She had been trying to coax him into bed._

"_But I'm not tired, mother!" Inuyasha said stressfully, with an added yawn that betrayed him._

_Sesshomaru watched the pair go back and forth for a moment then intervened. "Inuyasha, you must sleep."_

_The tiny child turned to him. "I'm not tired, Sesshomaru! I don't want to go to sleep yet- I wan to play with you!"_

_Izayoi and Sesshomaru exchanged glances. "We may play, Inuyasha, if you wish, but you must promise me that if you are tired, you will go to sleep."_

_Inuyasha ave him a dubious look then nodded quickly. "Can we draw, Sesshomaru?" Izayoi sighed lovingly as the elder nodded and his brother took him into his room where they sat in front of a table._

"_What do you want to draw," Sesshomaru asked quietly._

_Inuyasha took out the necessary utensils, handed one to his brother and then spoke. "I want to draw you, before you go. That way I remember what you look like…in case you don't come back."_

_Sesshomaru didn't feel like confirming the boy's assumption was necessary. Instead he began drawing a picture of their father, in profile. The very last time he saw him alive._

_When the boy was done drawing his brother, he went to draw himself, saying he didn't want Sesshomaru to forget what he looked like either, in case they were to ever meet in the future._

_The demon did not bother to inform his brother of the contempt he truly has for him or of the powerful bond of hate that will develop between them in time. He did not tell him these things because, he realized, they were not true._

_Sesshomaru didn't hate his brother. He no longer blamed the half breed and his human mother for the death of his great father._

"_You're picture's nice, brother," the child said sleepily, clutching it to his chest. "This is what Father looked liked?" His brother nodded slowly. "Thank you, Sesshomaru. I'll keep this picture forever."_

_Sesshomaru kneeled in front of his brother and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Inuyasha, you must sleep now, okay?"_

_The boy nodded reluctantly as he was lifted into bed by his brother. "Do you really have to go now?"_

"_Yes, Inuyasha. I mustn't stay any longer and I may never be able to visit you so casually." Inuyasha looked as though he was on the of tears now. "But I want you to remember that, no matter what the future brings, we will always be brothers. No matter how you feel towards me as you grow, know that I will still protect you." He held the boy's tiny face. "Can you remember that for me?'_

_Inuyasha shook his head quickly, holding onto his brother for dear life. "But, don't leave yet! Stay, stay, Sesshomaru…at least until I'm asleep…please?"_

"_Of course."_

"Sesshomaru!" The youngest son screams as he charges towards his brother. "I'm gonna kill you!"

The demon steps out of the way as his brother's Tetsaiga slices the air around him. "You will never be able to beat me if you can't even hit me. Father should have never given you that sword," he shouts back, halfheartedly trying to hit Inuyasha with his poison claws. "You don't deserve that power."

His younger brother growls in response. "Shut up!" He tries to swing the sword around his back to land an attack. H nearly gets Sesshomaru- nearly. "Stay still, dammit!"

Sesshomaru had jumped up at the last moment to avoid Inuyasha's hit. While in the air, he flipped forward and wound up behind said half demon. He knocks him down with a simple flick of his wrist.

Inuyasha lays face down in the grass, huffing, his sword lying across from him.

Sesshomaru lands gracefully behind him. "Inuyasha, if you can't even beat me in such a simple battle, how do you ever expect to beat Naraku?"

The man grunts, but says nothing.

"You are pathetic. Get up, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha arises slowly then turns to face his brother. "I…am not…PATHETIC!" He charges Sesshomaru with vigor. He manages to knock the other down, only because, little to his knowledge, his brother was not fighting him as a foe, but as a mentor.

Sesshomaru never forgot the special day he had with his brother. He remained true to his promise until this very day, though Inuyasha had been too young at the time to. Every time he fought with his brother, it wasn't to kill, but to teach.

He tried to train him to fight for himself, to help him learn to get the upper hand in a battle where his opponent may have the advantage.

"Now who's pathetic, Sesshomaru? You got taken down by _one measly half breed,_" he sneers.

Before Sesshomaru can respond, there is a female voice in the distance. It is calling for Inuyasha and is followed by three other voices, all doing the same.

Inuyasha looks away for the briefest second and Sesshomaru throws him off, jumping away from him in the process. "You will never defeat me, Inuyasha, if you let mere weaklings distract you." With that said, Sesshomaru takes his leave, walking slowly, knowing that his brother would no follow with his companions approaching.

Inuyasha growls audibly.

Sesshomaru did this for his younger brother because he loved him. And he knew that, though they weren't the closest, Inuyasha had to have some deep rooted feelings for him too.

After all, they were the only family they had.


End file.
